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Fujitsu CX420 and BX400 With Windows Storage Server 2012

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By Scott M. Johnson – June 7th, 2013

Hi Folks –

The Register recently published a great article on Fujitsu’s new PRIMERGY CX420 S1 system, which can run Windows Server 2012 or Windows Storage Server 2012. Fujitsu bills the CX420 as “an out-of-the-box dual-node cluster server for Microsoft Windows Server 2012, enabling small and medium enterprises or multi-site organizations to provide continuous uptime for their business applications and data.”

Some clear benefits are provided by the CX420 S1 system including:

  • Increased server density. The CX420 packs two server nodes, shared redundant power and cooling, and 12 hot-plug storage drives into a compact 2U chassis.
  • Decreased energy consumption. The CX420 features central cooling fans and 2 shared, highly efficient, hot-plug power supplies.
  • Compatibility with existing data center infrastructure. The CX420 supports conventional front-to-back airflow and cooling and standard 19" industry rack infrastructure.
  • Superior availability and serviceability. The CX420 provides hot-plug support for server nodes, power supplies, and disk drives, including the ability to service each server node without affecting the other nodes in the chassis.

The CX420 S1 dual-node cluster includes two half-width, double-height SX272 S1 server nodes (spec sheet for these nodes can be found here). Based on Intel's C600 chipset and Xeon E5-2600 processors, each server node supports 16 to 256 GB of RAM. Per the article, a two-node cluster-in-a-box starts at under $12,000 in its base configuration and will begin shipping in North America in June!  That is a sweet price for high-availability in a single chassis.

These pictures show the front (disk drives) and rear (controllers and PSUs) views of the CX420 chassis.

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While we’re talking about Fujitsu, I should also mention that you can get its “powerhouse” Fujitsu PRIMERGY BX400 S1 running Windows Storage Server 2012.

 

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Fujitsu outlines how the BX400 delivers:

  • Modular infrastructure. An optimum combination of up to eight server or storage blades in a small enclosure, which is available as a 6U rack- and floorstand-version.
  • Smart, flexible design. Latest Intel Xeon processors, scalable memory configurations, and flexible dual-channel 10GbE Converged Network Adapter (CNA) to provide a common infrastructure for LAN and SAN, with fine-tunable bandwidth for network and/or storage I/O.
  • Simplified lifecycle management. The ServerView management interface lets you manage servers and enclosures locally and remotely and take complete control regardless of the state of the server operating system. According to Fujitsu, this can help cut server administration time by up to 60 percent.
  • Efficient power and cooling. Highly efficient components, advanced cooling technology, and potent power management tools help reduce cooling and air conditioning costs.

Other noteworthy specs for the BX400 include:

  • Eight half-height bays for server or storage blades
  • High-speed mid-plane with three fabrics
  • Four rear bays for connection blades and four rear bays for PSU/fan modules
  • Up to four hot-plug power supply modules (one as standard)
  • Up to three additional hot-plug, redundant fan module.
  • One hot-plug management blade as standard, with redundant management blades as an option

With these offerings based on Windows Storage Server 2012, Fujitsu is delivering both cost-effective HA solutions and powerhouse blade servers in a true Cluster-in-a-box package that results in reliable, easily-managed storage for companies of all sizes. If you’re looking for continuously available storage solutions, you may want to check out what Fujitsu has to offer.

Cheers,
Scott